Tfi£ Rock of Gibraltar. 231 



nmrkable mixture of the productions of different countries and 

 parts of the earth, hkewise exhibits the most striking changes 

 of meteorological phenomena. Now we observe its summit 

 dear, in an instant afterwards it is enveloped in mist and clouds. 

 These may hang upon the cliffs for a whole day, while perhaps 

 the foot of the rock and the sea are enlightened by clear sun- 

 shine ; while a sudden change of the wind suffices to separate 

 or elevate the covering of clouds. It also sometimes happens 

 that the opposite sides of the rocky wall have quite different 

 kinds of weather. A thick wet fog may settle on the east side, 

 while the west side enjoys and reflects back the most agreeable 

 sunshine. There may be a storm on the eastern declivity of the 

 rock, while it is calm on the west side. Thus, therefore, it is 

 not only the waves which are broken against the rock of Gibral- 

 tar ; but the weather likewise is interrupted by its vast mass of 

 wall ; it is, in a peculiar sense, a screen both of the wind and of 

 the weather. 



The variety of remarkable objects, and the changes in the 

 appearances of the neighbourhood, are not the only circum- 

 stances by which the eye is intensely fixed upon Gibraltar. 

 The viewS; likewise, which are afforded there in the distance, 

 are of the most extraordinary nature which any headland can 

 afford ; and every side of the rock, in this respect, imparts 

 particular delight. The narrow ridge of the summit, at the 

 border of the perpendicular precipice, towards the east, unfolds 

 to view the unmeasurable expanse of the sea, which is bounded 

 only by the Spanish coast upon^the west. The unassisted eye 

 traces this line of coast as far as beyond Marbella ; and along 

 the green encompassing border of the higher range of moun- 

 tains, insulated bright white villages are discovered, and which 

 may easily* be distinguished from the comparatively dull look- 

 ing watch-towers. Towards the west, we behold the broad* 

 bay, and the beautifully formed mountain range, which rises 

 behind Algesiras, and declines towards the hill of San Roque. 

 That town, with its long aqueduct, constructed by the Moors, 

 appears no less clearly marked than this elevated fortification. 

 The bay is animated with the masts of vessels; and every 

 change of the wind occasions a variety in this lively picture, 



